2 Telemarketers Raided in Federal Probe of $1-Million Scam

Two Orange County telemarketing companies suspected of bilking hundreds of elderly victims nationwide of more than $1 million have been raided by U.S. postal inspectors.

The companies under investigation are International Marketing Concepts in Yorba Linda, also known as Global International, Global Marketing International, Laughlin & Associates, and Saarland Enterprises; and International Marketing Concepts in Newport Beach, also known as Marketing Concepts and Dupont Enterprises. None of the businesses has a listed telephone number.

Investigators last week seized business records and searched the homes of three Orange County residents believed to be involved in the scheme. No charges have been filed. None of the three people being investigated has a listed telephone number.

“There appear to be several pitches involved,” said Postal Inspector Aaron Ward, the agent in charge of the investigation.

The targets are elderly people who have previously purchased something from a telemarketing firm, Ward said. The individuals are told that they have won something, usually a car. Because the victims typically do not need the car, the caller offers to sell it for them and put them in the running for a $50,000 prize. The catch is that the “winner” has to send money to cover taxes and “processing fees” for the sale of the car.

“What makes this (scheme) fairly large is the fact that the victims are sending large amounts of money, more than $1,000,” Ward said. Fraudulent telemarketing schemes typically have the victims send smaller sums to avoid detection, he said.

The Orange County operations, which apparently started in January, have also been going on for longer than the typical scam, Ward said. Most such schemes shut down and disappear after three to six months, he said.